eldadgold wrote:...f you want your gear to last, and you are not one of those once a week lets go back and forth and just cruise around with our kites then stay away from SS.

...geez, I WISH I got to kite once a week! Damn. I unfortunately don't have the free time or the wind for it.

Definitely noted that you guys who live at windy places are harder on gear. That's why us east coasters (U.S.) never by used small kites from the Gorge, and the folks out there shouldn't buy used big kites from us!

I pretty much get every windy day we get during our windy season. I have had so many days straight I actually wished the wind would die!

It really depends on more than just the kite its self though. Conditions for one. We have a grassy area to set up and launch at. We don't get many days in the surf or on a sandy beach. It all so depends on how hard you are on your gear. I'm a monster towards mine. I self launch and even hot launch in light winds. I constantly crash my kites and hard.

eldadgold: Let me have that bandit for our season. I bet it won't be worth a damn after I'm done with it.

ripper tom wrote:
The kite fluters a lot on land because it jas only 3 struts.

That's only half right. It is not because of only 3 struts, but because of very wide distance between the struts. Fuel has 5 struts, but the same thing happens to it's trailing edge if you don't take care of it. Never leave any kite flapping on the ground, it'll destroy it. Flat kites are more resistant to flapping on the ground, because of their shape.

That being said, I'd like Slingshot to reinforce the trailing edge more. To compare trailing edge dacron reinforcement in RRD kite.

Zeek wrote:How much do you think this is down to the junction of different materials.....hard stiff and heavy Dacron working against the light flexible ripstop?

The flapping destroys not just the trailing edge but the whole section of material at the back. It starts getting soft cracks all over it - the trailing edge just gives way first. I think slingshot should do something about it since it is damaging their reputation, there are probably alot of people who will not buy any more SS kites after having an RPM fall apart on them.